An Australian scholar is urging the government to create a public notification system similar to Silver Alerts used in the U.S. to help find lost people with dementia. Dr. Margie MacAndrew conducted a study about missing persons with dementia. “Wandering can result in potentially life-threatening outcomes such as malnutrition, increased risk of falls, injury, exhaustion, hypothermia, becoming lost, and death,” she said. “Rapid reporting within one hour of knowing a person is missing is also known to help search and rescue have a better chance of finding a person alive and well.”

One hundred nursing students from the University of Alabama in Huntsville lobbied legislators to create a Silver Alert for patients with Alzheimer's and dementia. The bill would also create more training for law enforcement officers when they search for people with a diminished mental capacity. “It's an opportunity to help people and that's what nurses do,” said student Dawn Brown.